​This “Western wear” vest follows the silhouette of men’s 19th-century waistcoats. Western wear clothes had developed earlier during the 20th century out of fantasy-driven nostalgia for the 19th-century “Wild West,” as it was depicted in Hollywood films. The renaissance of such styles during the 1970s grew in tandem with denim’s surging mainstream popularity.

Object Number: 2015.51.4

Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology
Seventh Avenue at 27 Street
New York City 10001-5992